The Adventures of Platy and the Gang

2003 Volume 13
August 7, 2003
West Virginia

We arrived in West Virginia on July 31. We have liked the scenery in this area on our past trips and decided to visit some places we hadn't seen. We stayed at the
Greenbrier State Forest
.
This is a gristmill at
Babcock State Park
. We went there to have lunch but the restaurant they advertised had closed. We drove on to
Hawkes Nest State Park
and had lunch at the lodge there overlooking the New River Gorge. We were planning to take the aerial tram to the bottom of the gorge but as we went towards the ticket booth a group of 70 kids from a day camp arrived and streamed toward the trams. We decided not to go. We found out that they had bought all the tickets for 3 hours. We went to the gift shop but it was closed for lunch. We decided to go back home.

Along the way we stopped at the
New River Gorge Visitor Center
. We watched a slide show on the history of the area and then walked to the overlook for the bridge.
This is where once a year they allow bungee jumping off the bridge. Judy wanted to do it but we weren't there on the right day.
Too Bad!!!
It's only 897' down to the river.

We moved to
Watoga State Park
. We have stayed here several times before while biking on the
Greenbrier River Trail
. We had 22 miles left to complete the entire length. We finished it in 2 days. We biked one day out and back 11 miles so we did a total of 33 miles.

We took a break and Judy took my picture. She said that I am always taking her picture at the restrooms so she decided to get even.

The day after biking we hiked some of the trails in Watoga. The trail took us along the river and up a small stream to the top of the ridge. Along the way we passed a cabin. It had been built in 1887 and a family lived there until 1925. There was a cemetery on top of the ridge where family members where buried. The graves are just marked with rocks except for one. The tombstone said that he was born in 1895, probably in the cabin, and died in 1975.

Further along the ridge is an observation tower overlooking the Greenbrier Valley. We heard thunder while there and hurried down to the campground. Of course we didn't make it and got wet.

Durbin, West Virginia

We have moved to Durbin, WV. This is the home of the "Rocket", a Climax steam locomotive. Is goes on an excursion twice a day. The campground is right next door.
I went over one morning and watched them load up with coal and get ready. There was a group of guys there that had traveled all the way from Washington. They had worked for 12 years restoring this engine and now got to see it in action. They got to ride in the cab and blow the whistle.

We planned on biking on our last day in Durbin but as we started out the door it started raining and continued all day. We visited all the sights in downtown Durbin. That took about an hour. About half the town is owned by the same man. He owns the campground, the hardware/carpet/furniture store, the Laundromat, and the local museum. The museum is actually an old garage with a collection of everything he ever owned displayed. We found out he was a rich kid who inherited the town from his dad. The old guy who was watching the museum gave us the 'scoop' on him.

The next day we moved to Cumberland, Maryland to start biking the C&O Canal. That will be the next chapter.